Why Have Sporting Goods,
The Web Failed to Connect?

By

David Sweet The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition

Updated May 13, 1998 10:34 p.m. ET

When it comes to sporting goods, Sportmart is one of the giants. Its nearly five dozen stores, stretching from Cleveland to Seattle, sell more than 115 styles of baseball gloves, about 140 types of fishing reels and more than 500 varieties of shoes. A merger with Denver-based Gart Sports Co. in January created the second-largest full-line sporting-goods retailer in the country.

Numbers also tell the story at Sportmart's Web site. It was last updated Jan. 15, 1997 -- before President Clinton's second inauguration....